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The Procedural Rhetoric of War: Ideology, Recruitment, and Training in Military Videogames

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The Procedural Rhetoric of War: Ideology, Recruitment, and Training in Military Videogames View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Concordia University Research Repository The Procedural Rhetoric of War: Ideology, Recruitment, and Training in Military Videogames David Demers A Thesis in the Department of Film Studies Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Film Studies) at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada April 2014 © David Demers, 2014 CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY School of Graduate Studies This is to certify that the thesis prepared By: David Demers Entitled: The Procedural Rhetoric of War: Ideology, Recruitment, and Training In Military Videogames and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Film Studies) complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the final Examining Committee: ________________________________________________________ Chair Catherine Russell ________________________________________________________ Examiner Haidee Wasson ________________________________________________________ Examiner Elena Razlogova ________________________________________________________ Supervisor Marc Steinberg Approved by _______________________________________________________________________ Catherine Russell, Graduate Program Director April 15, 2014 ________________________________________________________ Catherine Wild, Dean of Faculty Abstract The Procedural Rhetoric of War: Ideology, Recruitment, and Training In Military Videogames David Demers In light of the increasing popularity of military-themed videogames, as well as the U.S. military’s substantial investment in both the development and consultation of such games, there exist very pertinent questions regarding the effects that this particular media has over its consumers. Although this topic has been previously examined using official military serious games, largely absent in the literature is the study of entertainment-based videogames. In this thesis, I investigate the relationship between the military and videogame culture. In particular, I explore how recruitment, training, and ideology are promoted by the military through the design and production of both educational and recreational games. I apply theories of game/play, procedural rhetoric, and discourse analysis to videogames to determine the precise mechanisms behind the medium’s effectiveness as an implement for neomilitarism. I also demonstrate how the videogame industry is both theoretically and aesthetically intertwined with that of the film industry. Using the America’s Army and Call of Duty franchises as case studies, the results show that, while there exists notable procedural differences between serious and entertainment videogames, both categories effectively contribute to the military’s mission of fostering potential recruits among the young male demographic. iii Table of Contents List of Figures …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………v Chapter I: Introduction……………………………….………………….……………………………………………….. 1 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................ 6 Videogame theory and definitions ............................................................................................ 10 Players versus gamers ................................................................................................................... 12 The procedural rhetoric of FPSs ................................................................................................ 17 Simulacra in simulation: A discourse analysis of videogame ideology ..................... 28 Chapter II: Military media convergence...................................................................................... 35 The subjective gaze of videogames........................................................................................... 45 The military videogame-style film ............................................................................................ 49 Discipline and Democracy ............................................................................................................ 54 Chapter III: America’s Army ............................................................................................................. 61 Training the twenty-first century virtual soldier for real war ...................................... 63 Mission accomplished? .................................................................................................................. 73 Chapter IV: Call of Duty ...................................................................................................................... 76 A Very Grand Narrative ................................................................................................................. 78 When Simply Following Procedures Carries Complex Implications .......................... 82 Grand Ideology through self-idealization .............................................................................. 87 Chapter V: Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 90 The Object of our Affectation ...................................................................................................... 93 Notes………………………………………………………………..….…………………………………………... 96 Works Cited………………………………………………………………….…………………...……………. 101 List of Figures 1. A visualization of ludus gameplay …………………………………………………………....14 2. A visualization of paida gameplay ...………………………………………….………………15 3. A visualization of military-themed first person FPS gameplay …………………..15 4. The game lobby from Call of Duty: Black Ops II………………………………………….16 5. Post-game statistics in Call of Duty: Black Ops II …………………………………….…24 6. The storming of Normandy during WWII in Saving Private Ryan, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, and Call of Duty 2 .................................................................43 7. First-person point of view (FPPOV) usage in Lady in the Lake and Inglorious Basterds …………………………………………………………………………………………47 8. Exposition scenes in Act of Valor and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 .……….49 9. First-person action sequences from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Act of Valor ………………………………………………………………………………………………52 10. Kazimir Adzic and the Axis of Evil …………...……………………………………………….67 11. The recruiting station lobby in America’s Army 3….………………………....………...74 v Chapter I: Introduction Captain John Price had been in this situation before. His chopper shot down behind enemy lines, Price and the rest of Bravo team must fight their way through droves of enemy soldiers to get to the extraction point. Fortunately, Price was fearless and indefatigable – everything you could ask for in a soldier. What’s more, the rest of his team was as tough as he was, and the only difference between them was that they knew that it was Price who called the shots – and he was never wrong, even when he was being insubordinate. This time, however, was different. As skilled as Bravo Team was, there was no way that they would survive this mission without the help of some big artillery. Luckily for them, an AC-130 warship was inbound and it was filled with a virtually endless supply of ammunition, along with an accomplished gunner who seemed to have done this very mission dozens of times before. The enemy soldiers (of which the village is exclusively inhabited by) charge Bravo Team like lemmings and ultimately to their death. The camera mounted on the AC-130 display their heat signatures against the grey terrain as they run, then fly through the air from explosions, then quickly dissipate into a barely visible shade of grey, marking the moment of their deaths. Captain Price and his team manage to survive once again and are airlifted to their next mission. If only it were that simple. For all of its accuracy in military technology and visuals, this mission in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007) severely sanitizes massive destruction and all evidence of collateral damage that comes with virtually any large-scale military attack. The question is: why sanitize violence in this 1 manner? It would be simple enough to argue that the violence has been sanitized as such because, this being a video game, the gaming industry has a duty to avoid the moral corruption of children who are inevitably playing it. This, however, is rendered a moot point: the game itself is “rated ‘M’ for Mature”, that is, only users 16 years old or above are legally permitted to purchase it. What’s more, if moral corruption were truly the issue, the game would have omitted such elements as gratuitous profanity or the option to kill wounded enemy soldiers that pose no threat. They clearly did not. Another possible argument to be made is that limitations in video game technology have forced the developers to avoid dedicating too much of the game engine’s efforts towards elements that have no bearing on gameplay functionality. The logic here would be that the more time and energy spent on rendering dismembered bodies, the fewer virtual enemies the player will have to shoot. But despite game developers constantly seeking to provide an increasingly realistic representation of warfare, much of the more complex issues such as politics or the horrors of war are barely glossed over, and even then only as it pertains to fulfilling a particular mission. Therefore, the rhetoric
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